The General

In this landmark 1926 silent comedy, Buster Keaton stars as Johnny Gray, a lovelorn Confederate train worker who, after being rejected for military service during the Civil War, loses both his girl (Marion Mack) and his train, and then retrieves both in a singularly hilarious fashion. A slapstick comedy classic that still holds up very well even with younger audiences—mainly due to Keaton's inventive routines on a moving train—The General has never looked better than it does in this double-disc 'ultimate edition.' DVD extras include the choice of three musical scores (the first, in both Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo, composed by Carl Davis and performed by the Thames Silents Orchestra; the second arranged by Robert Israel, and the third a theatre score by Lee Erwin), a tour of the authentic 'General' locomotive (built in 1855), a look at the filming locations (in and around Cottage Grove, OR), brief behind-the-scenes footage, filmed introductions by Gloria Swanson and Orson Welles, and a montage of Keaton's best train gags from throughout his career. Considered by many to be the Great Stone Face's finest comic hour, this release of The General is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (R. Pitman) [Blu-ray Review—Oct. 27, 2009—Kino, 78 min., not rated, $34.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1926's The General sports a great transfer with three music scores (including music composed and conducted by Carl Davis and performed by the Thames Silents Orchestra; music arranged and directed by Robert Israel; and the theatre organ score by Lee Erwin). Blu-ray extras include a video tour of the authentic 'General' locomotive (18 min.), intros by filmmaker Orson Welles (12 min.) and actress Gloria Swanson (2 min.), 'The Buster Express' montage of Keaton's best train gags throughout his career (5 min.), a tour of filming locations (4 min.), brief behind-the-scenes home movie footage, a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: one of the all-time silent greats makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—Feb. 21, 2017—Kino, 143 min., not rated, DVD: $24.95, Blu-ray: $29.95—Making their latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1926's The General and 1923's Three Ages both feature nice transfers with stereo 2.0 sound. Extras on The General include audio commentary by film historians Michael Schlesinger and Stan Taffel, intros by Orson Welles (13 min.) and Gloria Swanson (2 min.), a 'Return of the General' vintage short on the restoration of the legendary locomotive (11 min.), and two orchestral scores (by composers Robert Israel and Joe Hisaishi). Extras on Three Ages include D.W. Griffith's 1912 drama 'Man's Genesis' (9 min.), a Candid Camera TV segment featuring Buster Keaton (6 min.), a brief vintage Alka-Seltzer commercial, and music by Israel and by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. Bottom line: a nice Keaton two-fer if you don't already own separately.] [Blu-ray/DVD Review—June 18, 2018—Cohen, 150 min., not rated, DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1926’s The General and 1928’s Steamboat Bill, Jr. feature fine transfers and DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks on the Blu-ray edition. Extras include the behind-the-scenes featurettes 'Reflections on The General' (6 min.) and 'Buster Keaton: The Luminary' (5 min.). Bottom line: these 4K restorations are the best-looking editions of these Keaton classics to date.]